Sun victory in Java battle

President of JavaSoft Alan Baratz rallies the troops

Microsoft has suffered a setback in its battle against rival Sun Microsystems over its use of the Java programming language.

A federal judge in California ordered Microsoft to remove the Java-compatible logo from its products pending a final outcome in the case.

The judge ruled that Microsoft could not use Sun's logo - a coffee cup with steam rising from it - any software packages or Websites because its version of Java differs slightly from the original.

Sun argues Microsoft's tailored version of Java breaks with the 'write once run everywhere' principle because it works with Windows.

Sun: Defending use of Java logo

"The average consumer and user would go to a retail store and see a box with a Java logo and think they were getting something Java compatible," said Sun's chief executive Scott McNealy.

"The judge has said that's just not right. We think that's a huge, huge statement."

Microsoft has said it will comply with the preliminary ruling. But it has played down the significance of the decision.

"The only real impact of this ruling is nothing on products," said a Microsoft spokesman.

"We just have to remove or cover the logo. There's no software impact."

The ruling affects Microsoft's Internet Explorer and related products.

Long battle ahead

The ruling is only the first round in the dispute between Sun and Microsoft over the Java software, developed by Sun as a way to create software that can run on any computer.

The trademark issue is part of a broader lawsuit that Sun filed against Microsoft over rights to Java.

Sun licenses Java to more than 100 other companies, including Microsoft. But in a suit filed last October, the company claimed that Microsoft violated the terms of its licensing agreement.

Sun said Microsoft had tailored Java so that it would work best on computers using its Windows operating system.

It argues this defeated the whole point of creating a language allowing programs to run on any kind of computer.

Microsoft has denied the allegations and defended its adaptation of Java, saying it needs to make sure it works well with Windows.